Improvement in arms for dolls



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES F. BLAKSLEE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

iMPROVEMENT IN ARMS FOR DOLLS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 45,691, dated January3, 1865.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES F. BLAKs- LEE,ot' the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new anduseful Improvement in the Manufacture of Arms for Dolls; and I do herebydeclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact descriptionthereof, which will enable those skilled in the art to make and use thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part ofthis specification, in which- Figure l is a view of a doll-arm as atpres ent constructed. Figs. 2 and 3 are views of a doll-arm constructedaccording to my invention; Fig. 4, a view of the leather ofthe same, cutout and swaged or stamped, ready to be cemented at the ends or sides andilled or stuffed.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

This invention relates to an improvement in the manufacture of dollarmsot" that class in which thin soft leather is used for a coveringor case,and the latter stuli'ed with cotton, wool, or other similar or suitablematerial. These arms have been hitherto made. by eutting out two piecesot' leather, euch being the shape of a longitudinal half ol the arm andhand, and sewing together the -dges or sides ot'the two pieces allaround the arm and fingers. This is attendi d with considerable labor,not only in the sewing,butalso in the stutling, as, the lingers beingquite small, considerable time is consumed in forcing the stutiing intothem. Moreover, the leather must be necessarily quitethin,(splitleatherbeinguseth) `in order to admit ot' the tingers beingmade perfectly in this manner, and the arms consequently are not asdurable as they should be.

My invention consists in constructing the arms ot' thick or unsplitleather and cutting thesame in a single piece instead ottwo pieces, asformerly, and forming the fingers by slitting, the arm above beingstuffed, and connecting the edges ofthe leather by cement, ashereinafter fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figs. 2, 3, and 4, A represents a piece ofleather cut in such a shape that when tolded and the edges or endslapped it will be of the form desired for the arm of a doll. The pieceA, before being folded, is shown clearly in Fig. 4. The piece of leatheris unsplit. (Sheep-skin will be most generally used. rlhe fingers andthumb c are formed by cutting longitudinal slits in the piece ot leatherat the proper'end, which is done at the same time that the leather A iscnt out. The piece of leather A, after being thus cut, is folded or bentround in tubular form, and the ends or sides lapped and secured togetherby common glue or any suitable cement, as shown at b in Figs. 2 and 3,the two parts or halves of the fingers being also cemented together.

In consequence of' the leather being thick or unsplit, the fingers cwill be sutiiciently stii without any siufing, they being coniposed oftwo thicknesses ot' leather, the stiiiness of which is increased oraugmented by the glue or cement. The stning, therefore, which may bewool, cotton, or any suitable material, does not extend lower down thanthe points designated bye-the junction of the fingers with the hand.

By this mode of manufacture I obtain a very economical and durable armfor dolls. 'Ihe labor of stitching or sewing is avoided altogether, aswell as the tedious operation ot stuffing the fingers, while thethickness of the unsplit leather, which cannot be employed with thestitching or sewing process, renders the arm exceedingly durable.

In Fig. l the old or present mode ot' manufacture is shown, a a'representing the two stitched sides, and b the fingers, also stitched ateach side and stuffed.

l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, as an improvedarticle of manut'ac ture An arm for dolls, constructed by stamping orcutting ont of leather of suitable thickness with the fingers andadjacent part of the hand completely cemented together, so as to havethe necessary form and rigidity without stuiling, all as hereindescribed.

.CHARLES F. BLAKSLEE.

Witnesses:

WM. F. Mo-NAMARA, J. I, HALL.

